Long Shot
by mdelpin
Summary: Sting is scheduled to be executed in two days, and it's up to the dragon slayers and their friends to try to rescue him without getting caught themselves.


This began as a 5 Sentence Meme for the prompt Arrow. 5 Sentences, that's it. How hard can it be? When my mind starts to go off pretty damn hard apparently.

Jaci even though I botched the attempt I hope you still enjoy this madness. It was kinda fun to write.

The title was picked by my daughter and although I don't love it, it amused because this is a rather long one shot ;)

Arrow

Natsu Dragneel was the leader of a group of outlaws who had made their camp deep in the East Forest of Magnolia. The group consisted of seven teens who had been orphaned as a result of the current King of Fiore's unfair laws and extreme taxation. They called themselves the Dragon Slayers.

The Dragon Slayers were determined to fight against the cruel injustice of the monarchy, and to this end, they stole riches from the wealthy and gave them to the poor so they might stand a chance of paying their taxes and avoiding incarceration. Any carriage that passed through the East forest was deemed fair game to their advances, and so far they'd managed to remain relatively unscathed.

All seven were mighty fighters, but Natsu was the best with a bow and arrow, being able to hit targets his friends could barely make out, which was why more often than not he was tasked with being the lookout. It was a tedious job most of the time, but not today.

Natsu heard the rustling first, alerting him to the presence of an intruder. He quickly grabbed an arrow from his quiver and placing it on his bow pointed it towards the noise, half expecting to see a forest animal come sauntering out. He waited patiently for whatever it was to get closer, only to smile widely when he saw someone he was well acquainted with.

"Ah, Good Sheriff of Magnolia, how kind of you to visit," Natsu eyed the man who was walking up to him with an amused grin, "and wearing my favorite outfit no less."

The Sherriff looked down at himself and was annoyed to find his shirt had disappeared, "Damn it, every fucking time! Couldn't you live somewhere easier to get to?"

"That would rather defeat the purpose of being an outlaw, Sherriff," Natsu reminded him, adopting a playful tone and giving the man's chest an admiring glance before adding, "Plus I rather enjoy the view."

Gray Fullbuster, the Sherriff of Magnolia, rolled his eyes at Natsu's blatant flirting and pointed at his bow, "Put that thing away, you're going to put someone's eye out one of these days," he grumbled.

"That depends on what brings you here," Natsu responded, the carefree smile never leaving his lips but his eyes had hardened in wariness.

Gray sighed, "I already told you I was sorry about what happened with Sting, I have to keep appearances too, you know. If my father knew I was still involved with you, I might as well live here."

"Why don't you? I've certainly asked enough times," Natsu slowly brought his bow down and set it aside, placing the arrow back in his quiver and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Natsu, don't start that again," Gray groaned not wanting to get into their usual argument already," you know it's not that simple. I can't betray my father like that."

"Why not? He betrayed _you _long before by forcing you to live a life you don't want. Or is this really what you want to do with your life? Arresting people for not being able to pay their taxes when you know damn well there's no way they could ever raise the number of jewels the King is demanding of them," Natsu protested heatedly before adding much more quietly, "Or forcing you to live with _her_ just to keep you from me."

"Natsu-." Gray began, but there were no words to explain his inner conflict, so he settled for grabbing the outlaw by his vest and pulling him into an embrace.

Natsu resisted at first, but when he felt the first brush of Gray's lips against his own, he couldn't help but yield to him. It had been too long since their last joining.

"_You_ are the one I want, but I'm not like you, I can't just leave everything behind to fight for a cause, no matter how noble."

"Leave everything behind?" Natsu blinked at him in disbelief, "You act as if this was a choice! Tell me, what would you have had us do? You know damn well if we'd stayed we'd be behind bars now, even Wendy. This was the only way."

"Damn it, Natsu, it's not a game anymore!" Gray took a paper out of his pants pocket and held it out for the other to see, "Look at what came into my office this morning! The King has put a price on all your heads and with things being the way they are every marksman in Magnolia will be out for your heads for the reward. Please just go somewhere else, this isn't a fight worth dying for."

"It was never a game, Gray," Natsu grabbed the paper and crumpled it before tossing it on the ground behind him, "I knew this would happen eventually, it changes nothing."

"What's _he _doing here?" An angry voice startled them as it approached.

"Stand down Rogue, he only came to warn us that a bounty has been placed on us."

"How's Sting?" Rogue asked, the lack of sleep and constant worry reflected in his features.

"I had a doctor tend to his wounds, he's pissed at me but otherwise fine," Gray reported, but he refused to look Rogue in the eyes.

"What's wrong?" Natsu immediately asked.

"The bounty wasn't the only reason I came today," Gray finally said with a resounding sigh, "Sting is scheduled to be executed in two days."

"Executed, but why?" Natsu tuned out Rogue's ranting and focused his attention on his lover, "We've never killed anyone!"

"Because you guys hit the Heartfillia family and Jude Heartfillia is demanding justice," Gray muttered unhappily.

"Sting wasn't even on that job!" Natsu protested.

"You think they care about that? You Dragon Slayers have gotten too popular for your own good, especially you, Natsu. Word of your deeds has stretched far and wide sparking the imagination of many, and now the King wants to take you out before you can grow to become an actual threat."

Gray could almost see the gears turning in Natsu's head, and he began to panic, knowing whatever his boyfriend came up with was bound to be dangerous and ill-planned, "No, whatever is going through that pretty head of yours the answer is no. You need to stay as far away from the castle grounds as you can. Promise me, Natsu."

Natsu refused to meet his eyes and Gray tried to get him to see reason, "Natsu, look at me," Gray waited patiently for Natsu to comply, "They're trying to draw you out so they can kill you, please don't hand yourself over to them on a silver platter."

"So this is your dad's plan, huh? Kill the boyfriend so you can live happily ever after with the Lockser princess?"

Gray nodded miserably, "Please don't try to rescue Sting, I can't stand to see you get hurt."

"You know that prison better than anyone, with your help we could get Sting out," Natsu pleaded, "For once in your goddamn life, pick me!"

"What are you talking about? I've always picked you, you idiot, why do you think you're still alive?" Gray huffed, squeezing his hands into fists even as he growled, "Do you really think if anyone else had my job, you wouldn't be caught by now?"

"Then pick me one last time, once we get Sting back, we can run away, somewhere so far they'll never find us," Natsu begged, "We could have the life we've always dreamed about."

"I'm all he has left, Natsu," Gray looked away, not wanting to see the hurt he knew would be in Natsu's eyes, "It would kill him, I can't be responsible for that."

"For God's sake, just let him go, he's never going to love you the way you want and you know it, " Rogue interrupted, tired of all their back and forth, "But know this Fullbuster, you're the one who got Sting into this mess, and you _are_ going to help us get him back, you owe us that much."

"No, we don't need his help," Natsu assured Rogue with a smile, "we'll go in on our own as we've always done."

He studied Gray carefully for some time, thinking about Rogue's words and feeling the truth in them as he never had before.

"Go back to your comfortable life and forget you ever loved me," Natsu's words were like arrows piercing straight through his heart, but Gray couldn't deny the wisdom in them. "Goodbye, Gray. I thank you for the warning, but don't ever come back here again."

Natsu turned around and walked away from him, not once looking back. But Gray could see the slight shaking of his shoulders which he knew from experience meant Natsu was crying and he instantly regretted his words.

"No, Natsu wait!" Gray yelled, but he knew it was too little too late, Natsu had asked him to run away with him, and like a fool, he'd turned him down.

He started to move towards where he knew from previous experience Natsu's tent was located only to be stopped by Rogue.

"You heard him, he's through with you," Rogue's red eyes were practically glowing, his katana already trained on him, and Gray knew he was barely holding himself back, his hatred bursting out of his glare as he'd been given yet another reason to dislike him.

"Please tell him I love him?" Gray requested before turning away sadly and starting the long trek home. He knew it was unlikely Rogue would do as he'd asked. Things had not gone at all the way he'd hoped, but maybe it was for the best.

If he wasn't willing to leave his life, what right did he have to keep Natsu waiting? Natsu deserved better than that, better than him, he thought glumly. Gray _did_ love him, always had from the moment he'd realized what love was.

He was disgusted with himself, Natsu might be an outlaw living in the forest, but he'd never had any trouble following his beliefs, regardless of personal consequences. He had no problem showing his love for Gray in front of others, or going after the monarchy if that was what he felt was the right thing to do. Natsu's life might be more primitive, but it was genuine.

Gray's entire life was a farce. He had never wanted to be Sheriff, had only taken the job once he'd realized it would allow him to keep Natsu safe from harm. He didn't want to marry Juvia Lockser either, she was pleasant enough, but she was just some girl his father had picked for him, someone to divert what he called Gray's unnatural obsession with Natsu towards someone he deemed acceptable.

Juvia was a beautiful girl, but she'd never stood a chance. It was Natsu he'd always wanted. His brilliant smile and expressive eyes, his hands that brought Gray so much comfort, his lips that Gray loved to kiss, his body that gave Gray so much pleasure. But more than all those things it was Natu's unwavering love that Gray counted on and wanted to be worthy of. And he had tossed it away because he was too afraid to let go of what he was used to.

He entered his office and sat down at his desk, glancing over at Sting every now and again before focusing his attention back on his desk. He'd had him moved to the holding cell days earlier, with the excuse it would be easier to keep an eye on him before the execution.

"What's wrong with you?" Sting groused from his cell, "You're making me dizzy."

Gray looked around to make sure there was no one else that could hear him, "I saw Rogue and Natsu today, I told them about your execution."

"I figured, " Sting smirked at Gray's bare chest knowingly, before narrowing his eyes, "Wait! Why would you do that? Are you trying to get them killed too?"

"Of course not! We both know they were going to find out about it anyway, I planned to try to talk them out of coming for you, but if that didn't work, I figured they'd at least have longer to plan something, instead of coming in half-assed like you guys always do."

"You should have kept your mouth shut, they might not have found out about it at all."

They remained quiet for a few minutes before Sting couldn't hold his question any longer, "How did Rogue look?"

"He looked," Gray thought about it for a moment, "tired and worried. I'm sorry, if that one guard hadn't shown up I could have let you go."

Sting waved away his apology, "Nah, you've let us go plenty of times, it was bound to happen eventually."

"What if I let you go now?" Gray wondered out loud, "At night while most of the guards are sleeping, you've healed enough to make it back to camp. I can alert people in the morning that you escaped."

He could hear Sting chuckling knowingly, "Have another fight with Natsu?"

"He told me to forget I ever loved him," Gray whispered glumly, his face reflecting his misery.

"Seriously, dude, you need to grow a pair and get the hell out of this place," Sting advised, placing his hands behind his head as he lay on his cot, "I haven't seen you crack a smile once since I've been enjoying your hospitality. You used to laugh all the time, we all did."

"I don't want him to get killed trying to rescue you," Gray fretted, "If I let you go, he'd never be in danger."

"If you let me go and stay behind, you'll either be executed in my stead or remain locked in some cold tower like a princess for the rest of your life. What do you think Natsu will do then?" Sting looked up at the ceiling of his cell stoically, "We either both get out of here, or we wait for them to come for me."

He thought about Sting's words knowing he was right. _Was_ his father's happiness really more important than his own? He'd spent his entire life trying to please the man, but no matter what he did, he always managed to fall short of expectations. Why shouldn't he go with Natsu? They could run away together as Natsu had suggested, start over somewhere. Hell, it's not like he even agreed with what the King was doing, he'd rather fight _against_ him than continue to whittle away at his soul by working for him.

The more he thought about it, the more determined he became to put their happiness first.

"We'll leave tonight before they can come up with a plan," Gray informed Sting before leaving the prison and heading for his home to get some things together.

"About fucking time," Sting muttered, looking forward to seeing Natsu's face when he glimpsed the two of them arriving together. He'd been waiting for Gray for a long time.

O-o

"We need to go tonight," Natsu insisted, "They'll be expecting us to do something on the day of the execution."

"Well yeah, it makes more sense, they'll have to take him out of his cell, it would be easier." Laxus pointed out.

"I agree with Natsu, the sooner we get Sting out of there, the happier I'll be," Rogue chimed in.

"You're not coming, no arguments," Natsu declared much to Rogue's dismay, "You're way too tired to be of any use, Wendy stays too."

"We need to take a small group that can get in and out quickly without being detected," Natsu explained, "Gajeel, do you think you can pick the lock on Sting's cell quickly if we can't find a key?"

"Should be a piece of cake, " Gajeel assured him with a grin.

"Cobra can be the lookout, with those ears of his he should be able to hear anyone coming," Natsu continued, "You in, Cobra?"

"Sure, why not? It's been boring around here anyway," Cobra shrugged disinterestedly, "What about Laxus?"

"I need him to stay here and watch Rogue and Wendy, make sure they don't do anything stupid like try to follow us," Natsu glanced at Laxus hopefully, knowing he wasn't going to be pleased with a babysitting role.

"Fine, I'll make sure those two behave but don't turn this into a thing, Natsu," Laxus grunted.

"I won't," Natsu agreed, grateful that the older man wasn't giving him a hard time. He looked at the others and said, "Get your stuff ready, we'll leave as soon as it gets dark."

Rogue walked up to him as he was getting his supplies together. "Listen Natsu, I wanted to say I was sorry for earlier, I shouldn't have gotten in the middle of your argument."

"It's fine," Natsu waved him away, "You were right."

"No, I wasn't," Rogue avoided Natsu's gaze, "he tried to go after you, but I didn't let him. He asked me to tell you that he loves you."

Natsu felt the words go through him, to the place in his heart that hurt whenever he thought of what could have been, and he sighed, "Thanks for telling me, but it doesn't change anything, he'll never leave, and I can't wait for him forever. As soon as we get Sting back, we're going to leave Magnolia and find someplace safer to continue what we're doing."

Natsu grabbed the rest of his supplies and went to say goodbye to Wendy and Laxus. Wendy hug tackled him and held on for as long as Natsu allowed it. He ruffled her hair gently before pulling away.

"Be careful," Laxus warned them, "if anything feels off just come back, we can try again tomorrow."

Natsu, Gajeel, and Cobra nodded and took off, moving silently from tree to tree.

O-o

"You're really doing this?" Sting peered at Gray from his cell, noting with surprise the travel bag he was carrying, "I'm proud of you, man."

Gray didn't answer, too terrified to come up with anything suitably flippant. He knew the moment he opened that cell he would be labeled a traitor by the Crown. There would be no going back, the life he was used to would be closed to him forever, and he would be running for the rest of his life.

But you will be running with Natsu, he reminded himself, and at that thought, he began to breathe a little easier. If he could be with Natsu, then everything would be worth it.

Gray managed to smile at Sting as he shoved his bag under his desk. "I'm going to go get your dinner, the guards have already begun their rounds."

Sting nodded absently, too nervous to really be hungry but happy for the distraction nonetheless. He'd been surprised to learn some guards were sympathetic to their cause. They had apologized to him for not being able to help, telling him about how the Dragon Slayers had helped out some of their relatives. They had a job to do, and Sting respected that. They weren't the enemy, the King was.

Ever since he had come to power five years earlier, he had doubled and in some cases tripled the amount of taxes they were expected to pay, leaving everyone but the incredibly rich to live in a kind of indentured servitude.

The older subjects had tried to keep up as best they could, but it had proved too much for their feeble bodies. Many of them died. That had happened to all their caretakers, leaving the Dragon Slayers to fend for themselves as best they could at a reasonably young age. It had been Natsu who had decided they had to go while they still could, and the six of them had followed, ending up deep in the woods, a place Natsu knew well.

Sting couldn't wait to get back there, already looking forward to surprising Rogue and showing him that he was alright. He was thinking about his boyfriend when Gray returned with two trays filled with food. He passed one to Sting and sat at his desk, ignoring his food in favor of wringing his hands back and forth.

"You don't _have_ to do this," Sting reminded him, sounding concerned.

"Yeah I do," Gray disagreed, knowing if he didn't, he would regret it for the rest of his life, "It just feels like everyone's staring at me like they know what I'm going to do."

"Oh that," Sting smiled, "It goes away, we all felt it when we went after our first carriage. When are we going to go?"

"Right after the change of the guard, at that point, they should be the farthest away from here, it should buy us some time."

"Sounds good," Sting started picking at the food on the tray, "We might as well eat, it doesn't taste any better cold."

Gray grunted in agreement and began to eat. He was almost done when his father walked in.

"What is this about you going on a trip?"

"Wh-what?" Gray stuttered, his fork clattering to the floor as he startled from the unexpected visit.

"Your girl came to see me in tears," Silver Fullbuster stared his son down looking displeased, "said she had seen you pack your belongings in a bag."

"She's not my girl, and she has a name," Gray snapped, but inwardly he was freaking out at his father's presence. He stole a glimpse at the clock, cursing his luck and Juvia's habit of watching everything he did. "Considering how determined you are for me to marry her, I'd think you'd remember it."

"I'm a busy man, Gray, I don't have time for your wit," Silver chastised, "Are you going somewhere or not?"

"Of course not Father, I have an execution to plan," Gray fought the childish urge to roll his eyes, somehow managing to keep his gaze level with his father's as he shrugged his shoulders, "I have no idea what she thought she saw, she lives in a fantasy world. Perhaps you should have picked someone better to force me to marry."

Silver raised his arm in a striking motion when he was interrupted by Sting.

"Hello, Lord Silver," Sting greeted from his jail cell with a mock bow, almost laughing at the disgust on Silver's face when he realized who was addressing him.

"Don't presume to act so familiar with me criminal," Silver spat, he looked into the cell and when he was sure he had Sting's attention his lips curled into a cruel smile as he casually added, "the world will be a better place once you have left it."

Sting chuckled and waved at Silver cheerfully not letting his words affect him in the slightest.

Gray, however, could only gawk at his father, Sting's father had been Silver's friend for many years. Hell, his father had watched Sting grow up over the years as he'd played at their house along with all the other dragon slayers throughout his childhood.

This was the man he'd held in such high regard? Gray found himself thanking God for letting him see this side of his father. It helped remove any doubt he had left. He had to get out of this place, he had no desire to risk ending up like him.

He watched his father leave in a huff and turned to Sting, "Thanks for the save."

Sting just shrugged it off, "No offense, dude, but you're already a better man than your father."

Gray could only hope that Sting was right. He looked up at the clock again, only one more hour to go. They settled down to wait and reminisced about their past.

O-o

Natsu, Gajeel, and Cobra crept up to the large castle as quietly as they could manage with the tools they were carrying. They marked guard placements to see how they had changed in their absence. They'd never attempted to infiltrate the castle before, and they were nervous, but it was the only way they could rescue Sting.

They had a relatively good idea of where things were having spent much time inside its walls as children, but they'd never needed to visit the prison, although they had a general idea of where it was located.

"We have to wait until the change of the guard, Gray's mentioned that's the best time to sneak in," Natsu whispered.

Cobra started to laugh, "Is that what you guys talk about while you're getting each other off? And here I thought you'd both found religion."

"Shuuuut up," Natsu hissed even as his face changed colors from Cobra's teasing, "You're an asshole."

Cobra smirked, amused by Natsu's response as well as Gajeel's ridiculous gihis, but he saw both their shoulders had lost some of the tension they'd exhibited just minutes earlier. Good. He strained to hear anything he could. He frowned at one particular piece of information.

"I don't know if this is good or bad but it sounds like Sting isn't at the prison anymore he's in," but before he could finish his thought Natsu completed it.

"Gray's office. Oh man, this is gonna suck," Natsu groaned.

"What are you talking about?" Gajeel looked puzzled, "Why would it be a bad thing? I mean he's on our side." He scratched his head, not getting what was so bad about it, but when he received no answer, he added, "Isn't he?" The way he looked at it that should make everything simpler.

"Yeah, he is, but think about it," Cobra explained quietly, "If we take Sing out from under him he's going to lose even more credibility than he already has. He might find himself in jail. So he'll have no choice but to go against us."

Natsu took a deep breath hating himself for what he was about to say, "We go in as planned, Sting is one of us, and we're not going to let him be executed. Gray made his bed, now he'll have to lay in it."

"Are you sure?" Cobra pressed, knowing this was likely to go badly.

Natsu nodded curtly, and when he noticed the guards had left their positions, he ordered, "Let's go." They immediately threw up their grappling hooks and began to climb the castle wall.

O-o

"Here, put this on," Gray threw a guard outfit at Sting that he had packed in his bag.

Sting hastily put it on over his own clothes, exiting the cell as soon as Gray unlocked the door and declaring "Let's go home."

Gray could only peer at Sting anxiously as he contemplated the enormity of what he was about to do.

Sting came over and patted him on the shoulder, "Relax, dude. You're gonna pass out if you don't breathe. Everything will either be fine, or we'll die. Either way, we'll be out of here."

"That's meant to be comforting?" Gray complained, taking some slow breaths to steady himself as Sting laughed at him.

"To know me is to love me," Sting shrugged even as he grinned excitedly, "You good?"

"Let's just get this over with," Gray muttered, grabbing his bag and draping it over his shoulder. "When we get out there, make sure to walk slightly behind me, you're a guard, not an equal. And look around for intruders or something, but don't look anyone in the eye, and don't talk to anyone."

"Got it."

They walked out of his office and headed for one of the lesser used entrances of the castle, Sting walking a few feet behind him.

They had been incredibly lucky, only bumping into a few other guards. Gray nodded at them curtly and continued on his way. They had just made it outside when they heard the first cries.

"Intruders!"

Sting and Gray looked at each other, both facepalming as they grumbled, "Natsu!"

Gray started walking back when Sting grabbed him roughly by the shoulder, "What are you doing?

"What does it look like? I'm going back to get Natsu," Gray shook Sting off and continued on his way.

"You can't do that idiot, he's here to get me out. He'll see I'm not there anymore and head back to camp."

"No Sting, he won't, because he'll get himself captured or killed. There's a bounty on all your heads now, Dead or Alive. The only reason we got out so easily is that I was with you and no one thought to give us a second look. I never thought he'd be bold enough to try something tonight."

"You can go home if you want, but I have to go get him, or all this is for nothing."

Sting looked towards the woods with longing, but he knew Gray was right, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if Natsu died and he could've done something to prevent it. Besides if Natsu was here odds were Rogue was also.

"Fuuuuuck!" Sting cursed, knowing he might be walking back to his execution, "Fine, what's the plan?"

"We go back in and act normal until we get found out, "Gray shrugged while trying to ignore his growing apprehension, "What else can we do?"

He grabbed a sword and a bow and a quiver of arrows out of his bag. He kept the sword as was his custom and handed the rest to Sting. "I hope you're as good with that as I remember."

"Second only to Natsu," Sting assured him, and together they made their way back in.

Gray stopped one of his guards who was running in the direction of his office, "Where are the intruders, how many are there?"

"Three, Sir, They were seen heading towards your office, we believe they're attempting to rescue the prisoner. What are your orders?"

Three of them, but which three? Natsu for sure, this screamed of his terrible planning, Rogue probably, but who else? If it was Laxus, they were fucked. "Can you tell me anything else?" Gray asked before sending the guard as far away from his office as he could by asking him to fetch the outlier guards.

Sting and Gray shared a glance before rushing back to Gray's office.

O-o

"What do you mean it's empty?" Cobra hissed from his spot by the door.

"Just what I said, there's no one here," Natsu replied crossly. What the hell were they supposed to do now?

"Well, we're fucked," Gajeel pointed out as the first cries of intruders rang out, "Anyone got any ideas?"

"I say we just run out of here as fast as we can and hope for the best," Natsu suggested.

"Really? That's the best you've got?! How the fuck did you end up being our leader?" Gajeel sputtered, hands going to the hilt of his weapon.

"What the fuck else are we supposed to do? We can't stay here," Cobra pointed out, "Someone's coming. Forget that, everyone's coming!"

All three men gave frantic looks to their surroundings, looking for another way out or anything that might help them.

All of a sudden they heard cries of "They went that way, hurry. They're getting away!" that sounded very much like Sting.

_The hell?_ They all thought at the same time.

Steps were still heard coming closer, but it sounded like only two people now. They hid as best they could so they wouldn't be visible from the door and waited with weapons drawn. The door opened and closed quietly.

"You fucking morons," Sting launched into a rant, "We had gotten out! We were headed home until you dumbasses got yourselves seen and we had to come back to get your sorry asses."

"Sting!" Cobra, Gajeel, and Natsu converged around their friend and examined him, making sure his wounds had healed before attacking him with effusive hugs.

Natsu was the first to respond, "Wait, we? We who?"

Gray stepped out from where he'd been studying Natsu, suddenly feeling shy after their last conversation. "Hey."

"You broke him out?"

"Yeah, I don't wanna be here anymore, I wanna be wherever you are," Gray smiled tentatively as he waited for Natsu's response.

"Are you sure? Once you do this, there's no going back," Even though he sounded muted, Natsu was thrumming with excitement at the possibility.

"I'm sure," Gray opened his arms and Natsu rushed into them and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, I should have gone with you from the very beginning, I was a stubborn idiot."

"Damn, I never thought I'd see the day he actually admitted it," Gajeel muttered while Sting only smiled at his two friends.

"This is all wonderfully romantic and all but let's not forget we still have to get the fuck out of here," Cobra was once again acting as a lookout, "Anyone got a plan?"

Natsu went to open his mouth when Cobra amended, "Anyone who isn't Natsu."

Natsu was about to protest but looking at where they were decided, maybe Cobra was on to something.

'You could pretend to take me as a hostage?" Gray suggested still holding on to Natsu.

"That might work," Sting agreed although he didn't like it, that would make anyone not holding on to Gray an easy target. "Anyone else?"

"Are there any other ways out?" Cobra asked, "We can't stay in here much longer."

"Not that we could get to easily or quickly," Gray said after some thought, "What about if we split up? It might confuse them. I can see if there are more guard outfits in here." He rummaged quickly and found only one other, it looked like it might fit Cobra, so he threw it over.

They all studied Natsu and Gajeel, neither one would be easy to disguise when much to their surprise Sting took off his guard uniform and handed it to Gajeel.

"Let's see how this looks on you," Sting muttered, and they soon realized it should be good enough to pass for as long as they would need to get out. "Okay, so the way I see it Natsu and I are the most recognizable targets out of the four of us so Cobra and Gajeel will be guards escorting me to the prison on the Sherrif's order. No one should question it, and we'll try to go out the same entrance Gray and I did."

Gray nodded in agreement, seeing the value in Sting's plan. "That just leaves Natsu and me, he'll pretend to take me hostage in exchange for getting out safely. It could work, remember not to talk to anyone unless forced to, and say as little as possible."

He grabbed a pair of handcuffs and tossed them at Gajeel, who turned and grabbed Sting's hands roughly, looking almost giddy as he put the cuffs on and announced, "You're under arrest!"

Sting groaned, "Great, I forgot how he gets when he gets any authority."

He could hear Natsu and Cobra snorting at Gajeel's antics and muttered, "Idiots, all of them are idiots."

"Alright go, we'll follow in a few minutes," Gray urged, hoping against all hope that they all managed to get out of this unscathed, "When you get out don't wait for us just head back to camp. We'll do the same. Good luck."

The three men nodded, and Sting told them the general direction they would be going, two minutes later they were gone.

"I love you," Natsu said suddenly, "you know, in case I don't get to repeat it. And I'm sorry for screwing everything up."

"It's okay, you had no way of knowing, I only made up my mind a few hours ago," Gray grabbed Natsu's hand and laced their fingers together squeezing them tightly, "Here, for luck." Gray pulled Natsu closer to him, using his free hand to caress Natsu's cheek before leaning in and pressing his lips against his boyfriend's, eager to make up after their fight.

Once they separated, Gray smiled, "I love you, too."

Natsu was too scared to be happy, for the first time since he'd taken this path he really did have something to lose, and he didn't want that to happen.

"Hey," Gray encouraged, noting his distress, "Everything's going to be fine. We just have to get through the next few minutes, and then we can forget all about this place."

Natsu nodded, grabbing the sword Gray offered him before taking a deep breath and saying. "Okay, let's do this."

Gray smiled at him one last time before opening the door and stepping out. They managed to get halfway through the first courtyard before being challenged. Gray had been holding his breath the whole time, terrified that someone would attempt to take a shot at Natsu from behind for the reward money.

"Sherrif?" A guard approached them, and Gray quickly held his hands up in front of him.

"Don't do anything hasty, he's promised to let me go once he gets out of the castle," Gray lied, trying to sound as convincing as he could manage considering his heart was halfway up his throat.

"Show them the sword, Natsu, you've got to sell this," Gray muttered under his breath.

Natsu held the short sword up for the guard to see and placed it against Gray's neck. "Let us be on our way, or I swear I'll cut him!" He couldn't bring himself to say kill.

The guard looked from Natsu to Gray nervously, not knowing what to do. He let them go, but as soon as they had gotten past him, he screamed out, "The Sherrif has been taken captive by one of the intruders."

"Shit!" Gray cursed, "We need to hurry, there's an exit not too far from here."

They heard a multitude of steps running in their direction and decided to forego the farce and just run as fast as they could towards the exit. Gray would never know what possessed him to look back.

At the front of the ever-growing group of guards chasing after them was his father, looking angrier than Gray had ever seen him. He held a bow in one hand while the other reached for an arrow from the quiver that hung on his back. His face was contorted into a mask of hatred directed at Natsu who was still running, unaware of the danger that lurked just behind him.

Time seemed to slow down as Gray saw his father stop running, loading the newly acquired arrow into his bow and aiming it at Natsu. Gray stopped running as well, he turned and flung himself in front of where Natsu was standing just in time to feel a sharp pain in his chest as the arrow pierced his flesh.

Gray felt himself falling, heard Natsu's screams and the twang of his bow as arrow after arrow left it, dispersing the crowd of guards. He heard other people screaming, maybe even his father, but he had stopped caring. All he wanted was to look at Natsu for as long as he could, but his vision was starting to blackout.

"Natsu?" Gray called out urgently, not knowing what was happening.

"Shh, don't talk, I'm here," Gray could feel hands gently touching around his wound, his body arched in pain as Natsu tugged the arrow that was lodged in his chest."

"Tell me what it would have been like if we had run away together," Gray pleaded.

"You're not going anywhere," Natsu insisted.

"Please?"

Natsu talked trying to distract Gray from what he was about to do, "We'll play pranks on the others during the day, but never on Wendy. We'll go hunting and swimming, and at night we'll find a field where we can look at the stars, and we'll make love every night. Neither one of us will ever be alone again."

He took off his shirt and waited until Gray looked relaxed before pulling the arrow out and shoving his shirt over the wound, putting as much pressure as he could on Gray's chest to stop the bleeding.

"I love you, Natsu," Gray managed to say before closing his eyes, his expression peaceful.

"I love you too, dumbass," Natsu replied lovingly. He looked up and saw that a guard was heading his way. He thought about getting his bow out, but he didn't want to remove pressure on the wound just yet.

"Is he going to be okay?" The guard asked him, his expression sad.

"I think so, he's just fainted from the blood loss, " Natsu explained with a reassuring smile.

"That was his father that shot him, I can't believe it," the guard looked shell-shocked.

"Yeah, he never did like me much," Natsu explained, "Although I wish Gray hadn't gotten himself hurt over it."

"I'm going to take him now, are you going to try and stop me?"

The guard shook his head, "No reason to, it was pretty obvious he wanted to go with you, There are a few of us who would like to come with you too if you allow it. We want to help you fight against the King."

"What's your name?"

"I'm Lyon," the guard smiled at him hopefully.

"I'm Natsu, welcome to the Dragon Slayers, you can go get your friends, we'll be leaving shortly. Also, can you check on Silver for me? Gray will want to know when he wakes."

Lyon nodded eagerly and scampered off, returning ten minutes later with about twenty others, all eager to leave the castle behind.

"Silver will live," Lyon reported.

Natsu closed his eyes, thankful he had once again succeeded in not killing anyone with his arrows. He knew he wouldn't be able to manage that forever, but he wasn't ready to cross that line yet. He hoped the others had been able to escape without a problem.

Now that the bleeding had stopped he picked Gray up carefully and carried him in his arms, and began the long walk to their camp followed by a group of boys and men that seemed to get bigger every time he looked back. When they reached the edge of the forest, they found Gajeel, Sting, and Cobra waiting for them and they all walked home together as Natsu explained what had happened.

Maybe they'd be able to pull this off after all. Natsu looked down at Gray and smiled, hardly daring to believe that from that day forward, they would no longer be separated. The road ahead wouldn't be easy, but with Gray by his side, Natsu knew it would be worth it.

A/N: Hope you liked it, this was insanely fun to write. I really enjoy writing the dragon slayers being friends. They're a bunch of dumbasses, but I love them all. I also loved Gray and Sting in this!


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